The present invention is generally directed to a framed system and, more specifically, to an assembly for a framed system.
Various manufacturers of extruded metal products have produced metal posts, e.g., aluminum posts, with various cross-sectional configurations, which are designed to interfit with metal panels, the combination of which, when assembled, provides one or more walls for a room of a building, such as a clean room. At least one manufacturer has produced a metal post with a T-slot in at least one of its faces. An example of one wall system that has implemented a post and batten assembly is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,300, entitled “Wall System Employing Grooved Posts, Connector Blocks and T-Bolt Receiving Battens” to Fritz Huebner et al., which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,300 discloses an elongated batten that has a central body, which is positioned in an elongated groove of a post and attached to the post with fasteners. The disclosed batten also includes a pair of flanges that extend from the central body opposite each other. The central body includes an elongated cavity that includes a pair of inner shoulders, which define a T-slot in the batten, which is designed to receive a T-bolt fastener. In an assembly using post and battens, as described above, a connector block attached to one end of a post is utilized to orthogonally connect a horizontal post to a vertical post in a T-pattern and may be used to connect a vertical post to a floor track at one end and may be used to connect the vertical post to a header track at an opposite end.
The connector block is attached to an end of a post with a plurality of fasteners and is configured to receive a head of a T-bolt, whose associated T-nut is captured in a T-slot of an orthogonal post, floor track and/or header track. Configuration of the battens to include a T-slot allows work components, such as work surfaces, computer modules, desks, shelving, lighting or other such devices to be mounted to the battens, which also secure a panel to a post.
The post and batten configuration disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,300 is particularly advantageous if a different color or style panel is to be substituted in that the battens can be readily removed for repainting or substitution of different color battens without requiring removal of the posts, which form a frame structure. Thus, such a post and batten configuration allow a user to easily create an aesthetically matching system without having to paint or anodize the posts of the system or dismount and later reassemble the entire structure. Further, such a system allows horizontal posts to be connected to vertical posts through the use of the above-described connector block, which attaches to an end of a post and uses conventional T-bolts to provide a relatively easily constructed wall.
While such a wall system employing grooved posts, connector blocks and T-bolt receiving battens provides a useful wall system, many potential customers require lower cost wall systems than can generally be readily constructed using posts and connectors described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,300 and do not require full functionality in many applications. That is, many customers do not require the capability of mounting objects from a face of the wall and may not require fully adjustable horizontal posts.
Thus, it would desirable to provide a framed system that is generally lower in cost than currently available framed systems. Further, in many applications it would be desirable to provide a framed system that is lower in cost and that does not provide for full adjustment of posts implemented horizontally. In various applications, it would also be desirable to provide a low cost framed system whose battens do no include a T-slot for the mounting of objects from the front surface of the wall system.